The
oracle bone inscriptions in the
reigns respectively of King of Yi and of King of Xin unearched in the Yin ruins can be discriminated and
dated according to the following fact: the two wars recorded in the Huang Group of
Inscriptions, the war with State of Yu and the war with State of Ren, actually referred to the same war, the former inscribed in the reign of King of Yi and the latter in the reign of King of Xin. In the Huang Group are two kinds of inscriptions labeled with the "20th Impeiral Year". One kind was used for periodical sacrifices, which was adopted in the reign of King of Yi, and the other kind for the king's baths, which was developed in the reign of King of Xin. Besides, the
Oracle bone inscriptions in the two reigns can also be distinguished by their respective discriminative stereotypes. Those marked with "Ziyong" belonged to the
Reign of King of Yi but those marked with "Ziyu" to the reign of King of Xin. There are other clues which help date these inscriptions. For instance, those inscriptions labeled with Fu can be dated in the reign of King of Yi while those labeled with Huang can be dated in the reign of King of Xin. Finally, these oracle
Bone inscriptions in the reigns respectively of King of Yi and of King of Xin can also be dated by their functions, such as sacrifice, hunting and whatever.
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